As sharing our data has become more common place, the number of opportunities for brands to engage with consumers has increased. Some consumer concerns about the privacy of our data still exist and we haven’t reached the full potential, but the programmatic tipping point has arrived. Advertisers more than ever require these real time technologies to reach the three ‘R’s – ‘right person, right product, right time’. Fortunately for advertisers, keeping track of consumers and accurately predicting their next move is becoming easier to do, as the technology and indeed industry evolve.

Programmatic is leading the charge, enabling marketers to target and connect with individuals far more effectively. Consumers are now able to interact with brands across multiple channels and the amount of noise out there on each channel is only increasing. Programmatic provides the tools that companies need to cut through the noise and connect with individuals. As the programmatic landscape continues to rapidly evolve and diversify, now is the time to align your business strategies.

Shifting into the programmatic space

Online marketing is complicated, especially with so many channels and sub-channels. Advertisers are continuing to spend more than ever before in digital and data-driven display advertising and businesses need to support this. There are huge opportunities to build smarter and stronger relationships with customers through big data, however in order to be effective companies need a transparent view of their digital spend, the data driving it, and the overall performance that follows. This is where programmatic really comes into its own. By providing a holistic view of a consumers online habits and buying behaviour programmatic advertising gives businesses the ability to engage with a customer at every stage of the path to purchase: from awareness, consideration and transaction, right through to repeat purchase and loyalty.

By focusing on aligning their strategies with the programmatic space businesses can create a 360 degree view enabling them to develop insights into action and thus connect with the audiences they need.

Programmatic in the EU

It’s an exciting time for programmatic developments in the EU as businesses find their own feet and come to terms with the benefits it can offer. As the sophistication of the technology and the skills of the workforce start to mature, programmatic advertising has advanced to become a considerable part of the European digital advertising ecosystem. Rather than simply imitating the US market, European businesses are taking it in their own direction as they develop the technology to meet the unique needs of their customers and partners.

As we move forward there is still a lot of room for growth. As a global company it is fundamental for teams like ours to apply international knowledge and guide the development of the European market to ensure it stays along the right path. By combining retail intent, data, proprietary technology and years of experience into a full service solution we have the tools needed to help shape the market and ensure that retailers and brands understand their consumers, efficiently acquire new customers and increase sales.

Keeping up with the digital landscape

With digital marketing making up 15-20% of the marketing mix at present and only looking to increase, businesses need to adapt now. We are close to saturation point as data continues to flow from a growing number of sources and consumer touch points. The challenge for the majority of businesses is that the data often remains locked within individual channels and functional silos within the value chain. By positioning your strategies to utilise the power of programmatic you will have the ability to unlock this data.

Through our experience in the retail industry we have found that anchoring the insights alongside behaviour data points enables companies to understand where their consumers are and how they interact with others. Businesses should aim to use data that is integrated with consumer shopping habits, by doing so they will have the ability to deliver better user experience and higher conversion rates as a result.

Programmatic will total over $20 billion by 2017 with $14.7 billion in the US and $3.5 billion in Europe. European companies need to pick up the pace and react to the speed of this change. By utilising the power of programmatic now businesses can benchmark themselves in the digital space and truly connect with relevant consumers.